I wonder if JLin's getting contradictory "suggestions" from Morey's camp vs McHale's. [W/c might explain why it seems like JLin's being exhorted to shoot [by one side] but choosing to pass [as required by the other side.]

:) I wish to have a son like him.I always teach my children just do your best no matter what.Not much of expectation though.As we can see in him the values/breed/up bringing of his parents plus the harvard education:)major in economics minor in sociology(study of human nature and environment)correct me if Im wrong.And he is really a smart kid 100 marks as in full marks in SAT MATH wow:) a role model

Jeremy supporters who have kids appreciate Jeremy's strong moral character. You don't see him falling into the trap that ensnares so many young athletes by spending money on cars, homes, clothes and women. He's a shining example of someone who lives consistently with what he believes. Whether or not you share his faith, you can't call him a hypocrite which is so refreshing these days. Stay strong Jeremy!

at least he's happy and relax in this video. that's something great to see. and Ill never believe he is shy or not aggressive to make any shots after yesterday's game. only jeremy knew why, while us can only predict what it is.

1. His knee injury is not 100% and playing up tempo is high risk at this stage.

2. Playing against weaker opponents, the Rockets can win by playing non-Linsanity which has much higher risk of injury to all players, not just Lin.

3. It's a business. Lin has to set up eg - PP, CP and even Asik to improve their $ value for future trades.

4. (I hope this is not true). The owner wants Lin to stay for a long time. He can afford Lin's stats to temporarily decrease at the cost of increasing everyone else's stats so that the team can afford to buy the star forward/center which is desperately needed. I don't want this because Lin could play much better and increase his stats at another team eg Lakers which has players that can dunk or alley oop much better. He doesn't need to prop up this Houston team.

5. They bought Harden who joined this team only because he was sick of being 6th man. If they upset him too much, he might disappear - on the scoreboard or physically.

6. The coach needs alternatives. The team can win (especially against weaker teams) by just letting Harden and Lin take over. However, other coaches devise counter defensive tactics and the top teams with young athletic players like OKL and Heat can stop Harden/Lin to win. Without alternatives, Rockets will go nowhere in the playoffs.

No. 5 - don't under-estimate the power of the franchise player. He can decide who is the GM or coach (re -Kobe Bryant). Statistically, you cannot get a Ring if your team does not have a couple of MVP type players. Also the management gets kudos if a player gets into the All Star team. That's why Harden IS the man that Lin will have to defer to.

Apologies, Harden is not treated the sixth man at Rockets. Before, when he was at OKL, he was a bench player and actually won the NBA 'Sixth Man' award. Commentators assume he wanted to be a starter and therefore came to Rockets.

I hate to be right in this case, but I called it after the breakout game that when Harden came back, it would be back to the same old deferring to Harden. Lin didn't have a bad game, but 10 pts, 6 ast is nowhere near the expectations for him.

The reason lin is more passive is easy to explain. The coaches. Period. Look, they play him 30 minutes tonight after 41 minutes last night when harden is out. Why? because the rockets have harden, tony douglas, chandler parsons and Defino bringing the ball up the court.. oh and sometimes lin. This platooning is really silly none of those guys have nearly the transition passing he does, its very obvious and statistically proven. When i see parsons and Delfino bring the ball up with jlin on the court I know this coaching staff is really clueless.

As much as I really want jlin to get in his nitch/grove with this team, I also wouldnt be hurt to see him traded to a team that wants a pg facilitator.

Neph I'm not saying anything about lin playing reckless..what I'm saying is the coaches are NOT playing to lin's strength. Jeremy is the best facilitator on the team, yet it drives me nuts when I see bad dribblers and harden waltzing up the court 65% of the time. Its not about the team being the wizards, I saw this game as a chance for the coaches to change the mindset and play harden/lin. Sigh...lets wait for the celtics game. Want my prediction?

Lin plays 30-32 minuteshas the ball in his hands less then 40% of the time he's on the courtHarden has 4-5 TO's lin sits on the bench for half the 4th quarterTony Douglas plays 4th because he waves his hands better then lin so his defense is better.

Good point! Coaches of other NBA teams who understand completely the strengths of JLin and have the right game plans to play to JLin's strengths are more than happy to to see McHale and his assistants FAIL. It's just plain laziness that stop the Rox coaches not to think hard to set plays that help the Rox win. Plain laziness, I would say, other than muddle-headed and amateur coaching.

Its not like you can always control how you fall. My buddy who is a judo instructor once claimed he could stand on a chair and fall without hurting himself. I put him on a chair and pushed him down - he got hurt.

Lin doesn't know how to fall? I thought he's a very good fall guy - literally and metaphorically! There are common incidents of big guys falling awkwardly and suffering injuries. Lin knows the best way to come down after a contested lay-up or dunk is to collapse. Don't try to stay upright 'cos your knees, ankles etc might not withstand the high g forces. You gotta fall like those guys that come off motor bikes. - head up, land on your back, arms straight, legs not taking shocks.

Lin simply cannot average just 10 and 6 every night. Even against bad teams. They need his scoring. If you do this often, you ll find yourself digging a hole that its hard to get out of. The norm can't be 10 and. 6. It has to be at least 15 and 6 night in and night out. Psychologically and physically will be better for him if he does this. Something is truly mysterious and wrong here. How can you go from 38 to 10. I can understand 18 to 10. But not 38 to 10? What?????????? Is going on???

For the record, I think JLin initially trying to drive left was the correct decision. Drive to the basket if you can. Neal was there though, and I think that made JLin back off. JLin was probably considering the long bomb after his cross-over back to his right, like the one made by Mo Williams.

JLin had the right idea to drive it. He just didn't continue to do so because Neal was there threatening to help.

He had a step on Green in his initial drive going to the left. If he was afraid of Neal stripping the ball when he entered the paint, he could instead pull up for a mid-range jumper before Neal was able to come over to help.

if you watch the tape, Chandler is just too close on top Lin and his man is sitting in the gap. Here is where I fault the coaching creativity, Chandler could easily backcut through the lane as Lin starts to drive, Lin can either drive off his ass -- sort of a moving pick -- or Lin can hit him on the back cut -- or Lin can hold a beat with a hesitation dribble or two while this pulls Chandlers defender from the gap clearing a much larger driving lane to the left for Lin with a much larger gap between him and the next defender. This isn't something the coaches don't know ... I just don't think they are actively exploring ways to truly unleash LIN.

witness ... many of the transition breaks that LIN leads, Harden, rather than sprint to a corner and stretch the floor for Jeremy, jogs to a mid-post position -- clogging any driving lane -- and holds ... waiting to v-cut out to get the ball.

it's soooooooo frustrating ...

not to mention the many times that Parsons and Delfino, let alone Harden, handle the ball on the break... I mean seriously did Byron Scott, Michael Coooper, and James Worthy take the ball of the glass and go? HELL NO ... that ball went to the Lakers BEST floor manager and break leader... MAGIC.

10/10. I agree with you that not giving the ball to Lin on transition opportunities is costing Rockets many easy points. This is causing Rockets additional TOs. I mean if they don't want Lin to facilitate especially in transition plays, I have no idea why they even brought Lin to Rockets. Lin goes really fast in transition and makes good decisions; this is one of the reasons why Lin is exciting to watch. If I were McHale, I would tell other teammates "When you rebound the ball, look for Jeremy and run your butt off, so Jeremy will find you." Is this that hard to do? It boggles my mind how Rockets are wasting their money and also someone's talents.

An ISO play is reasonable for the last Rox possession of the Spurs game in regulation time. Lin initially had the space and lane to drive and let out a shot. Perhaps he was thinking he wanted to kill more time and ice the game for good; he then backed up. The Rox corner player, I am not sure who he was, sensed time was running out, and left his corner position trying set a pick for Lin. This move brought one extra defender against Lin, effectively shutting down his right driving lane, leading to a TO.

The botched play was partly Green's excellent defense, and partly Rox inexperience team play. Lin took the fall on his shoulder, but I don't see it's totally his fault.

Very interesting observation. I dont know if this is right cause I didnt pay attention to that but if you are right I sure hope the team spoke about that. Otherwise they could make that mistake again.

McHale and Parsons where sort of blaming Lin for the iso attempt. They both said in postgame interviews that Lin should have gone for the screen. I mean - I never heard them criticise Hardens heroballing but hey...

At least Parsons did not miss out on one important fact. He said that Lin had earned this play cause he played great that night.

IMHO JLin is a wunderkind. If he is in the zone theres no stopping him. JLin likes to play with swag (which is why he doesnt like screens and loves to challenge his opponents one on one - hes got the speed to do that and fans all just wait for these situations), hes the PG and therefor he needs some leeway. Why was Linsanity possible? He was given his leeway. Dantoni once said in an interview that he only tries not to get in Lins way. That is what I expect from Rox coaches. The more they act like tiger-coaches the more it inhibits Lins play. I really think that you can tailor a team to a player but tailoring a player to a team -> kills the playes game.

If McHale and JLins teammates keep bickering about his game they will kill it.

Many have criticised that iso attempt but I dont think they should. On a good shooting night Lin can either make a 3 (he has done that so many times - in your face kind of style) or he can drive (bye bye). The screen is - in Lins case - not necessary. When the clock is running down Lin doesnt need a screen. A screen - like whydoubt mentioned - only draws more defenders. When JLin plays one on one he only needs to get past that one obstacle (or shoot). Once he gets passed his man (his quick first step is his gratest asset) there is no stopping him. If the opponents try to stop him - chances are its gonna result in a foul what means ft for JLin. If they dont fould him -> dunk or layup. Im totally with JLin on this!

Totally agree that Jlin doesn't need a screen ... but he definitely needs space. Parsons was hovering on that last play... his guy was camping in the gap. Yes, Parsons was possibly open for a quick swing... but with the spacing as it was, a pass might easily have been tipped. Parsons either needed to space out wider or cut. He killed the goose. Jlin had nowhere to go when he made his move.

3 things to free up JLIN without affecting Little King James . ...

1) Lin handles 90% of transition -- All others sprint and stretch floor. Jlin has clear orders to attack in transition. HARDEN must SPRINT the floor no jogging and floating.

2) Get JLIN in triple threat situations in half court near right side top with Little King James in the right side corner ... Throw on balls/and on ball slips with screener coming at his left shoulder. If Lin drives right, Little King James man will be hugging his guy in the corner or he will have to peel of LKJ to help... win-win.

3) Tell LIN we want YOU to be second leading scorer. GET him AGGRESSIVE by COACHING HIM. Parsons is fools gold... he should not be second leading scorer or trying to be... nor should anyone else be trying to be.

LIN needs green light. Parsons need YELLOW.

4) If all else fails, TRADE James Harden. You go to OT with one of the best teams in NBA (should have won -- thanks NOT for that 4thQ SUB McHale) with JLIN at HELM (everybody getting shots, everybody in FLOW except for Delfina who DOES NOT GET IT). Next game, you barely beat the worst team in the NBA with Little King James at the helm ... You do the math, Kevin,Kelvin, Morey.

Lets give them time. I believe Lin and Harden can make it happen. Its up to the coaches - not Harden or Lin.

If things dont work out theres no point in trading Harden as JLin would be stuck with the pro-Harden coaches. Jeremy would do better in LA. I know - people have said that Kobe scolds his teammates (what Lin also does) but thats OK I think. JLin is a smart workhorse - it would not happen to him. Kobe is basketball royalty - pairing Lin up with Kobe would be good for Lins status. Who would dare say crap about Kobes buddy? Also - LA seems to have the only coach in the NBA who would bet it all on Lin without trying to inhibit Lins game by making him do what he is not wired to do.

BTW - Asik should not walk back on offense as well. He is often the last man to show up. Thats not good at all. And - his screens could be better. He is not yet a quality big men.

I was jokin' there a little willydilly. Don't think they'll trade Harden in a million years... And, unless JLIN finds himself again with D'Antoni or a D'Antoni disciple this is probably the fate of LIN's career until ... his catch and shoot becomes absolute money. when that happens... he control his own destiny. Now, he's a pawn and the establishment ... who are either knaves or see LIN through a black basketball prism or both ... will sadly control his fate ... and we will be forced to hear people tell us that James Harden is a better player or that LIN cant be LINSANE on a consistent basis ...

Funny though... we have a pretty good size sample from NY that says when LIN isn't paired with a ball dominator he dominates the game, gets his team in flow, and they win. AND, the minute James Harden leaves the scene in Houston for one game, LINSANITY erupts...

There is no coincidence... those that deny it will prolly deny the Holocaust too.

Jeremy had a good defensive game and took 2 charges. Seems like no one else on the Rockets is willing to take a charge. However he was still hesitant to shoot the ball. He passed up an open 3 on one possession and drove the lane on another and could have finished at the rim but decided to kick out to Parsons. Douglas should not be outscoring Lin. I like Greg Smith's defense, he had another 3 blocks and had a team leading +14.

In the post practice interview linked above, he seems to realize that not shooting when you are open is not helping the team, so to speak, but yet, he seems to do this time and time again. He definitely touched the ball more often in the game against Wizards and should have shot the open shots without hesitation for several reasons:

1. You practice open shots in real games.

2. Personal stats become important in terms of showing everyone your value when it comes to negotiating a new K. In today's NBA, you can't just be a pure facilitator. Even Magic, the greatest facilitator PG, averaged close to 20 points per game, I believe, not sure. Objectively, not scoring more than 10 points per game is downright embarrassing because even Rondo who averages more than 12 assists per game -- and who is considered to be a lousy shooter -- averages I believe 14 points or more. I mean even Rubio averages more, and at this point, I consider Rubio to be a better passer. I actually think it's a joke when many say that Rubio will get 5 year maximum deal; I could definitely see Kevin Love rightfully thinking that Rubio does not deserve the max deal.

3. If Rockets' coaches and other players know you can hit open shots, they will pass the ball to you more often -- that's just human nature. Sometimes when Rockets' players rebound the ball, they should pass the ball to Lin, their best transition player, but they don't even look for him. It's fine for the coaches to want Lin to improve his 3 pointer shots but not taking advantage of what Lin is good in shows me that either they are not thinking or have some sort of an agenda.

4. If you don't take open shots, there is no guarantee your teammates are going to get better shots in the remaining 10 or 12 seconds, thereby your hesitation or reluctance ends up hurting your team.

I also think that sometimes Lin should go up to other Rockets players and tell them to pass him the ball in transition. It's disgraceful that Delfino and Parsons are dribbling the ball in transition thinking they are Magic. Just as Rondo is awesome in transition, Lin is darn good in transition. I am critical of Lin's play but yet I can see that this is one of his strengths!

When you observe the Spurs game and other games that Jeremy is in charged, several players touch the ball and get to look for a clean shot in every possession. Those are examples of "good ball movement" that will enhance the team to play in synch. When a team is playing in synch, everyone will be productive especially as the game progresses. That is why Jeremy play so well with everyone, and especially 2nd string players. In NBA even the 2nd string players are very good players, but they just can not "turn it up" by themselves, so Jeremy is helping them to "get hot". Therefore, Jeremy rarely has a great scoring first half because he is busy getting others to heat up.

As the game progresses his teammates will start being more consistent, and defenders will require to play honest defense and not cheating to double team Jeremy. Thus Jeremy normally scores more points in the second half. When Jeremy has a high scoring games, his shots are rarely forced, the spacing is better for penetration, and his shots are generally open shots.

When J Harden scores you often see James forcing the shot or aggressively driving to the basket, the result is either spectacular or turn-overs. Harden is very athletic and strong, so that is his game. Harden's strength is clutch iso plays when the team really needs points.

Can Jeremy and Harden play together? No doubt! Rockets' coach have to let Jeremy handle the ball more in the first half and allow the team to get involve. When the team is involved, the space will open-up which will benefit Harden's iso plays. Rockets' coach also should separate Jeremy and Harden's time on the floor because they are contributing to the team differently.

The current substitution pattern is to have Jeremy out first ~8 min into the Q1 while Harden plays out the Q1. I think the game will be easier if the pattern is the opposite. Let Jeremy runs the offense in Q1 and get everyone involve. Currently it is very often that both Harden and Jeremy will be resting on the bench at the same time, but I think they should take turns sitting during Q2 and Q3, and finishing together in Q4.

This is probably going to be more Rockets related than Lin, so if that's going to bother you please skip.

So I'm not going to say there aren't glaring flaws in our offense (because there are), but as far as W's go that's not where my concerns are.

Our offensive efficiency is 10th in the league, with a true shooting percentage that's 9th in the league, and considering we play with a pace that's first in the league, shouldn't we have a a record that's better than 19th in the league?

Can we talk about defense (def eff 22nd)? Our transition defense is 28th in the league and transition plays account for 13.6% of total. Considering how close some of our losses have been, we could have nipped them in the bud improving on this area alone.

So I'd like to solicit the collective eye test of all of you. On the one hand, I'm really happy with our offense, given that we're young/inexperienced/haven't played together/etc. Given our offensive stat rankings (and my personal bias that you should either shoot threes or take a layup), I'm ok with our style as well. But, given that so many of our threes are missed and give the other team the transition opportunities in the first place, are we robbing Peter to pay Paul, or do we just need to suck it up and hustle back? Or shoot better? :)

1) The Rockets have had a pretty tough schedule. The Western Conference is filled with "bad" teams like Portland and the Lakers that are very very strong. The Rockets have absolutely PUNKED the Eastern Conference on the whole (including the poor #1 Knicks that were crushed by 31). It's hard to get good numbers against teams like SA and OKC and Memphis.

2) Lin has done a good job leading his teammates, especially on defense where I think Lin looks great. But the Houston Rockets are the youngest and cheapest team in the NBA, and it shows a lot. No coach can change this.

First off, PACE is fool's gold. PACE is important if you are the more athletic team. And We are NOT. We are probably playing TOO FAST for our own good ... particularly by letting players other than JLIN handle the fast break. And, as KHUANG says, if we really are "the youngest and cheapest" you should should not be trying to OUTPACE people. Should the rockets run, ABSOLUTELY, they should "opportunity run" ... but having Tony Douglas sprint the ball up the floor to push pace is a fools errand. You aren't going to beat more athletic, more skilled teams by OUTPACING them ... but you can beat them by outsmarting them ... . You can slow the pace, you can play transition defense. Honestly, they way we are configured in the half court... to shoot lots of threes ... should allow us to get back more easily... everybody or nearly everybody is on the perimeter. Now, do I think like Morey that this team should be taking 3's and lay-ups? Absolutely not. This team, doesn't have very good three point shooters and its got only two and a half really good slashers. Parsons game needs to be tightened in the slash department... too often its just far too soft or leads to a turnover. If it were up to me, I'd allow JLIN's mid-range, Pat-Pats mid-range ... and I'd tighten the perimeter game of PARSONS, DELFINO, and MORRIS (who I don't really like at all). I would slow this game down... not speed it up and not shoot as many threes, and I would COACH up the defense...

TRANSTION DEFENSE is something that even the youngest and cheapest and most expensive (james harden im talking to you) can play well if they are coached. Even JLIN has played atrocious transition defense at times this season... but I'd say the absolute worst on the team is Harden. He doesn't have seem to have a clue and shows even less of an effort in that area.

This team will be a good as its LEADER. If HARDEN is the LEADER, he will have to play defense for them to become any good.

PS ... LIN is the best defender on the team... and that's by far. I've been disappointed with his transition effort this year, but in the half court he is miles ahead of most of his teammates, particularly in HELP. The play he made at the rim the other night vs Timmy was just such a high level defensive play... not because of the athleticism but because of the anticipation and savvy it showed

re: 1) You're definitely right about the schedule. While the season has been only 20 games, we rank 2nd in most difficult schedule (and not by just a little), despite having played Washington, Toronto, NO, and Detroit (twice!). So based on this, we might have an offensive rating that's undervalued, even better than 10th, no?

re: 2) Agreed Lin has done a good job leading his teammates defensively. Rox rank 10th in defense against the PnR handler and 11th in ISO defense (no small part to our guy, who ranks 15th in ISO defense; Lin/TD rank 46/26 respectively in PnR handler). Against such a tough schedule, that's not bad for such a "cheap" team, right? (BTW as an aside we are going to have to go over the validity of using contract sizes as a proxy for performance one of these days).

But the guys are young and other than Omer everyone is fairly athletic, at least enough that they could get back in transition. As Psalm234 writes above, McHale is trying to get them to work on this. As you write:

"No coach can change this."

You think this is an exercise in futility?

I suppose I'm lamenting the fact that while we actually are so much better than I would have predicted at the beginning of the season at so many things, it disappoints me that the one area where heart, grit, hustle and discipline trumps skill (getting back in transition) our team doesn't seem to have a culture that values it.

"You aren't going to beat more athletic, more skilled teams by OUTPACING them ... but you can beat them by outsmarting them"

Right. But as a general rule, and given our youth, aren't we the more athletic team, and aren't the more experienced teams more likely to outsmart us? (Manu positioning himself and getting CP to bite on a stupid and-1 comes to mind).

"TRANSTION DEFENSE is something that even the youngest and cheapest and most expensive (james harden im talking to you) can play well if they are coached. "

On this we agree, and that fact that they don't seem to want to do it bothers me.

I just don't think of the Rockets as athletic at all -- I think they are mostly limited athletes by NBA standards. ASIK off the charts unathletic of course, PAT-PAT, DELFINO, MORRIS do next to nothing for me athlete wise. PARSONS is a bit of an enigma athletically. I'd just call him average because some stuff looks great and other stuff is just sooooo weak.... and he can look awfully bad when matched up with another "comparable" athlete with some skill...

i go with Khuangs assessment ... most of the guys that LIN and HARDEN are playing with are second tier...

AND that's why COACHING is so important ...

I mean c'mon ... you are reigning in JLIN and making him a pass first point guard and then allowing PARSONS to "go for it." if anybody's game needs to be tightened it's PARSONS. His turnovers shouldn't be tolerated. Neither should Asiks... there's 8 TO's a game that could be cut down to 2 or 3 with some COACHING..

Now, when I talk about COACHING a young team and being smarter than the other side ... I'm talking about OUR COACH being smarter than the other side, knowing his team, and accounting for their weaknesses and strengths in order to give us the best chance to win. Of course, young guys will get schooled by older guys with more experience... but THE COACH can do A LOT to help out his inexperienced club ... that is, controlling the PACE of the game, Using time-outs to rest JLIN when they have a chance to win, teaching and demanding transition defense from ALL of his players... and much, much, much more...

I may be opening up a can of worms here, but do people believe Jeremy has had an all-star caliber season? I'm not asking does he have the skills and ability to become an all-star, but has his performance on the court this year been at an all-star level?

You know the answer already: Of course he has not been having an All-star caliber season. However, my understanding is that the All-star selection is based on the fans popularity, so if Lin receives a lot of votes, then he has every right to play at the All-star game, and that's that. You should know this already.

So why should I vote for him then? Because he's asian? Look, I openly admit that one of the main reasons I follow Jeremy is because he's asian. (I'm also from the Bay Area, a Christian and of Taiwanese descent). I believe being asian is one of the big reasons why Jeremy wasn't given any college scholarships and why he wasn't drafted. However just as I don't like people using race as a reason why people are shut out, I don't think we should use race as a reason why people should be given special treatment. If Jeremy is voted onto the all-star team over Chris Paul and Tony Parker, it will be more of a set back for asian-americans. It will be more evidence to his critics that the only reason he is starting in the NBA is because he's asian. As asian-americans we just want a level playing field, not special treatment. I do believe Jeremy will one day become an all-star but he needs to earn it on the court. I don't think we should vote for him just because he's asian. Sorry Jeremy, I think you're awesome but you'll have to wait until your performance improves before you get my vote.

Smoovies, I also agree with your rationale and feeling, and actually being voted into an All-star team may pose a quandary for Lin since he's not dumb to think that he was voted into the All-star team for his current performance. Having said this, I don't think it's "wrong" to vote for Lin and "wrong" for Lin to play the All-star game. For all I know, there may be a penalty NOT to play at an All-star game if the fans voted for you.

I know everyone wants to support "our guy," but at this stage in his development, Jeremy doesn't need the negative attention that would come with him being voted into the All-Star Game. And you know everyone will raise a big stink about it. The last thing we want to see is Jeremy playing in the game and looking like he doesn't belong (due more to his timidity in a setting like an All-Star Game).

I know people will claim otherwise, but having followed Jeremy since HS, I think he can be somewhat fragile mentally when it comes expectations. As we are seeing this season,he just puts way too much pressure on himself and overthinks things.

I remember the 2 times I went to go see him play when Harvard came to the Bay Area. The first game was in his sophomore season against Stanford and he got shut out. Literally. 0 points, fouled out, and played really bad. Apparently, Trent Johnson had given his team an order to not let Jeremy do anything and it worked. The second time was his senior season against Santa Clara. He had gotten a lot of attention nationally and especially in Asian-American circles, as he was having a great season, and while he played a good game, he didn't play nearly as well I thought he was capable of (he looked, yes, passive in looking for his own offense).

I believe Jeremy will eventually play like a All-Star someday (consistently, not just for a few games here and there) and I want his selection to be legitimate, not a result of his popularity.

It isn't "wrong" to vote for Jeremy. I am just pointing out the fact that most people are voting for him just because he is asian and not because he is having a stellar basketball season, a type of reverse discrimination. The civil rights movement in the 1960's was a triumph for black-americans because it advocated equal rights for all. However, black-americans lost credibility by supporting affirmative action when they wanted special treatment. Jeremy has been a trailblazer for asian-americans and has challenged the way americans view asian-american men. He has spoken out against some of the racism he has experienced being asian-american. I just hope he doesn't lose credibility because a bunch of well meaning over zealous fans want him to play an exhibition game when he hasn't really earned it. The great thing about Jeremy is that even if he is voted onto the all-star team, I trust he will figure out the right thing to do.

But I too prefer Lin not to be an All-Star this year because it put him in an even more difficult spot that other "disrespected" players will gun for him and make the season difficult. God forbid they will have evil intent for bodily harm since they're already jealous of him getting $25M by only starting 35 games last season.

And I don't think he would feel comfortable to be voted as a West Conference starter solely by popularity contest.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my mind if he gets at least 3 more 30PT games and lead Houston above 0.500 record.

Also Smoovies, I think it would be a good PR for Lin to abstain himself from All-star even if he was voted in. Say something along the line of "Although I am tremendously honored that my fans voted me, I believe there are other more worthy players who deserve to start in All-star game. Therefore, with a great deal of respect and appreciation, I would like to wait until I feel I deserve to play at an All-star game." Lin would even become more popular.

I agree with you. Respect is a big part of basketball. Jeremy will lose respect amongst his peers if he "takes" Chris Paul's spot on the all-star game. Also Jeremy doesn't do that well in all-star games which are more suited toward high-flying dunkers who can put on a show. I think he only had 2 points in last years rising stars game.

It's ok some of you won't vote for Jeremy. As for me I vote for his hard work his spirit and a chance to see him in the game. Very simple to me. I am sure Jeremy will appreciated his fans voting too because he knows nowadays getting people's support is something priceless.

Jeremy Lin should not be an All-Star this year. Too many other guards in the West are having much better seasons than him. Besides Kobe and Chris Paul who are ahead of him in balloting at the moment, Mayo, Westbrook, Parker, Curry, and Lillard are all having better seasons than Lin. It wouldn't be fair to them or to Lin for Lin to be voted in as an All-Star. He should be voted in when he deserves it by playing well, maybe next season.

OK, I totally disagree here. If Lin gets voted into the all-star game and he opts out... that's just stupid. That's like taking a present and throwing it back to the giver saying you don't deserve it. That said, I agree that he is not, so far, having a stellar year and should not be on the all-star game. But in my opinion, the way to deal with it, isn't by rejecting it. After all: He has NO control over whether he gets elected or not.

Many black people voted for Barack Obama because of his race. Large numbers of people of all races voted for him, particularly in the 2008 election, because of his inspirational story of overcoming adversity.

I can do the same...without people making fun of me or Lin. Society didn't seem to have a problem with people voting for Obama based on factors other than his policies, even though the election of a person to the presidency has far greater repercussions than voting a person to a single basketball game.

Am I saying that Barack Obama was unworthy to be president? Definitely not. In fact, I'm ok with people voting for president based on their personal connection to him while being ignorant of many of his policies. And I'm ok with people voting for All-Star players based on external factors as well.

Plus, there's nothing on the ballot that says "vote for the players having the best season objectively based on criteria like wins, points score, and PER” or even "vote for the players you believe are most worthy of an All-Star selection." Everyone votes for their favorite players. People who hate Kobe are not going to vote for Kobe, and everyone knows that Tim Duncan deserves a starting spot, but he's not going to get one. Why? Not because of anything basketball-performance-related, but because people just don't like him. They like high-flying Blake Griffin.

Additionally, the 38/7 game is a reason to vote for Lin. While one reason is not (objectively) sufficient for a spot on the team (and I just explained why objectivity is unimportant for All-Star game votes), the fact is that Jeremy's scoring outburst was higher than Chris Paul's highest-scoring game (27) and more importantly, Jeremy's ability to play at the same level as these other guards is there. He's demonstrated his ability to play at that All-Star level. Notice I didn't say he demonstrated a potential for All-Star play; I said, he demonstrated that he has that ability right now. Linsanity was no fluke. He's been boxed in because of a system that focuses on another (great) player. Yet, that focus is partly so lopsided because the other player is being paid a lot more money. Will you join me in voting against discrimination based on wage and a foolishly restrictive system against one of the game's top point guards?

Lastly, there's no reason why Lin's performance from last year shouldn't apply here. Remember, Linsanity began after All-Star balloting was over. With his historic performances, he no doubt would have been voted in as the starting point guard, probably in a landslide victory had it occurred a month or two earlier. Given the fact that the period between the decision for last year's all-star game and the decision for this year's All-Star game encompasses the Linsanity run, as well as a nice little run under Mike Woodson, voting for Lin based on those historic performances should be fair and justified.

Also, remember that this game is in Houston. Jeremy may not have another chance to play in front of his home crowd. Since Harden will likely be voted in as a reserve, fans will be thrilled to see both hometown stars in the game. Because many Houston residents will be in the building, we should expect few jeers toward Lin, if any. The All-Star game is a game for the fans, not a game for putting in those meeting some concocted number system. As I fan, I want to see Jeremy Lin play in the All-Star game. And there shouldn’t be a problem with that.

Do you remember the 1988 summer olympic games in Seoul, Korea when Roy Jones Jr boxed for the USA? He destroyed everyone he faced including his South Korean opponent in the finals. Incredibly the judges awarded the gold medal to the South Korean despite Jones outlanding his opponent 86-32. Everyone knew Jones deserved to win including his opponent. It was a joke. In the All-Star game, we (the fans) are the judges. We get to vote who gets to start in the All-Star game. If we use any other criteria, other than basketball talent i.e. race, religion, good looks, etc we are demeaning the value of what an NBA All-Star is. We will be no different than those olympic boxing judges awarding the gold medal to the wrong person. Jeremy has many more years ahead of him in which he will grow into becoming an All-Star, just not the year. The more I think of it, the more I am confident that Jeremy will give up his spot to Chris Paul if he is voted in. It is his character which makes him truly a special person.

But since the all-star game is fan generated and not basketball expert generated, I think it's understood that the best ballers aren't necessarily going to get in the all-star game. That's a fact of life. Mike Bibby, in his prime, was a superb point guard. But he never got voted into the all-star game. If Jeremy Lin gives up his spot or does not, I will respect him. But considering the nature of the all-star (in contrast to your example), I don't think he has to.

All-Star game is not an Olympic event. It's a fan appreciation event, and I don't have to be a judge of basketball skills in order to give my vote. I'll be voting for my FAVORITE player. If that doesn't sit well with some of you, I don't really give a flying fig. By the way, in this year's Olympics, South Korea lost a medal in fencing because of incompetent judges. They were a BIG joke.

If Lin was having a good season, your Obama comparison would be valid. But he's not having a good season, especially compared to others more worthy, based on merit by virtue of their performance, nothing more.

And this:

"Will you join me in voting against discrimination based on wage and a foolishly restrictive system against one of the game's top point guards?"

would be valid if he was in fact playing like one of the game's top point guards. Unfortunately, he's not. Maybe next year he will be.

I agree with a lot that you have said. Voting is very subjective and there are many factors to consider other than scoring and rebounding. I also agree that a player's history and reputation plays a factor. However the reality is that Jeremy currently is not a top tier guard in the NBA, he's got a long way to go to get to Chris Paul's level. Because the level of disparity between Jeremy and CP is so great, people will not take Jeremy's basketball skill seriously, he will lose credibility. People will question whether he is a NBA starter because of his skill or just because he's asian. Kind of like how in american colleges people wonder if a minority got accepted because of their academic achievement or just because they are a minority. Now in a couple years when Jeremy is a top 5 guard, people won't question whther he legitimately belongs in the all-star game, just not now. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the voting rules change next year if Jeremy gets voted in this year. They would call it the Jeremy Lin rule.

For people who say JLin's performance this year isn't at all-star level, just ask ourselves is it solely his fault? JLin always want to do his best, that's the reason many of us root for him. Circumstantially he couldn't perform at all-star level because of factors beyond his control,we fans want to "punish" him instead of supporting him?

Andy, you bring out the Obama thing I am think about too. Honestly if I am an afraican American I vote for him too. That's why I vote for my Asian man. @ achon. I m not a political person but I overhead some newspaper. Obama's years is not all that good too is what they said. There's flaws in Obama's system too yet he still got the vote from peopl because people like him.

* not over head. I mean I do read some newspaper. I don't think many afraican Americans vote for him because how good he is but because that pride to support someone that represent " you". That's some little thing in me too. If not because Lin I wouldn't bother waste my time on this NBA stupid all star thing.

Simply because the current All-star selection is based on the fan popularity. Just like the US Presidential race, the winner doesn't necessarily have to be the smartest or the most capable; if a candidate appeals to the voters, he or she will win.

It's a sad commentary about our society when we elect our leaders based upon popularity rather than their abilities. In the news today NJ Gov. Christie is being questioned whether he is too fat to be president. Should we vote Chandler Parsons to the all-star team because he is the best looking? If Jeremy is voted onto the all-star team, I have a feeling he won't accept. It would be consistent with his character, he wants to earn it.

Smoovies, some elderly Americans have told me that ever since TV got popular, the way candidates appear on TV has become more important. Probably true. Also, without raising a lot of money, hard to get elected, I think.

Lxy, I agree with you, but all I am saying is that I have no problem with Lin's fans voting for him. After all, there is no rule that says to be voted to All-star, the player must have so and so stats. I voted for Parker, Rondo and C Paul as PGs, but I see absolutely no problem with others voting for Lin.

Everyone has his own freedom and own thoughts. People vote for president you think they really knows the president are talking about? They agree with their policy? Most ordinary people just vote for the person they like and more appeal to them. That just the fact. In jeremy's case fans have different opinion that's nothing Different too.

Lydia Lien, that's precisely what I am saying. For better or worse, I would put myself in that category of "most ordinary people". I do not think the indirect media exposure gave me all that good insight to Romney. Basically, they both lied a lot; that's all I know. In some sense, Americans vote for a candidate who lies the most or best. :)

lxy, if I may add another comment. Tiger Woods said it best (Don't know if it's an original saying though). He said greatness of repeating over and over again the good performance day after day. I also believe as you do that a great player has to bring an "A" game every day. What makes Kobe great is not the fact that he once scored more than 80 points in a game, but because he competed at an "A" level throughout his career. Even though I don't like him as a person all that much, you have to have a tremendous respect for him as a NBA player.

Lin is disinterested in shooting because 1) he wants to encourage ball movement 2) he isn't getting any foul calls unless they were obviously hard fouls 3) he simply didn't plan to be a scorer in year 1 especially with Harden on the floor.

One thing I notice is when T-Mac and Yao were on the court at the same time, Yao hardly got any touches. Once T-Mac was on the bench, then the ball came to Yao. I see the same thing going on with Lin. Half the taem doesn't pass to Lin when Harden is on the court. Asik and Parson don't pass to Lin regardless.

Did anyone notice Jeremy's nose in the video Jlinfan posted? His bridge is crooked to one side, look at any images of him from a while back and you'll see his bridge used to be straight...means he's had his nose broken.

Guess at least one of those bloody noses he's gotten actually broke it at one point.

But how come the coaches still cover their eyes/ears, blind their own minds, refuse to acknowledge it, and also fail to make adjustment? Arghhhhhhhh.....

One of the major reasons for JL's performance so far is due to mis-usage, being marginalized, terrible timing from coaches in benching him, don't you agree?

We all know what he can do, and the Spurs game proved it again.

So what can a fan do to support JL? I know some of us texted/emailed/tweeted Rockets FO/GM, but did it make any impact? So far I haven't seen it did anyway.So, as a fan:1. please stop being self-righteous, by saying he does not play at all-star level, hence does not deserve to be voted to all-star game. PLEASE VOTE ANYWAY. THAT'S WHAT FANS DO - ROOTING FOR HIM NO MATTER WHAT, and show the coaches/FO/GM/owner/NBA that JL will always have us supporting him.

2. please stop asking JL to carry the burden of representing/fighting for Asian Americans, while standing afar just watching, instead of gathering around him to fight ALONG with him.

@hy what's the ticket price you got? They so expensive. By the way, these fans are stupid. People are allowed to wear jersey to support whoever they want. I see so many wear kobes jersey in ny not Knicks stars. Ironically.

What happens if Lin scores 38 in the Garden? (I know this is crazed thinking with Harden). But yes, if it does happen, the world will go completely crazy just like it did for two glorious weeks at the height of Linsanity.

I will still always remember the Lakers, Raptors and Mavericks games. Ok, my nostalgia is taking over now.